Da Couch Tomato

An attempt at a new layout, with horrible glitches, and very minimal knowledge of HTML.

Cinema, television, literature, and music–basically anything that can be reviewed. If you're interested in writing reviews, e-mail us at dacouchtomato@gmail.com. We won't pay you for reviews, but you get to practise your writing skills. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

British radio, however, seems to be going the path of its American animated cousin, opting for famous A-list actors over legendary but not-quite-famous voice actors. We've seen it before, but sparingly – Cabin Pressure had Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam, Absolute Power had Stephen Fry – but Neverwhere boasts of maybe the most expensive radio drama cast ever assembled.

Radio plays can be produced in two ways. First, it can be performed (and recorded) in front of a live studio audience, employing traditional techniques like using coconuts for the clippity-clop of horses. And the second way, as done by Neverwhere, is to apply the same techniques used in film soundtracks. The result is a rich, multi-layered tapestry of sound, enhanced with pretty accurate sound effects and reverb, producing an effect so flawless that you could just as well be watching a movie with your eyes closed.

With 5.1 surround sound as the standard for digital broadcast, the question to ask is: Would Neverwhere sound better while lying on a bean bag, being bombarded with the full 6-speaker set-up? Chew on that.